Worrying is a part of life. It’s natural to worry about the stressful things in our lives. But what happens when that worry becomes invasive and persistent? For people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), worrying can take over their lives, becoming excessive and exaggerated.

A person with GAD doesn’t simply have rational worries based on actual risk—they worry regardless of outside stressors, exaggerate the perceived level of risk, and cannot rationalize away the worry.

GAD is a common mental illness that is characterized by excessive, chronic worry that interferes with a person’s ability to function normally. A person with GAD may be worried about the same things as a person without GAD, but their worries are persistent, difficult to control, accompanied by physical symptoms, and cause significant distress and impairment in their lives.

• Excessive anxiety and worry about several activities or events, occurring more days than not for at least six months

• Difficulty controlling your worry

• Three (or more) of the following six symptoms (young adults), with at least some symptoms having been present for more days than not for the past six months:

  • Restlessness, feeling keyed up or on edge
  • Being easily fatigued
  • Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
  • Irritability
  • Muscle tension
  • Sleep disturbance (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless, unsatisfying sleep)

• Significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning, caused by worry or anxiety

• Symptoms are not caused by a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism)

• Symptoms are not better explained by another mental illness or disorder

Causes

• Nervousness or irritability

• Feeling a sense of impending danger, panic, or doom

• Increased heart rate

• Hyperventilation (rapid breathing)

• Sweating

• Trembling

• Feeling weak or tired

• Gastrointestinal (GI) problems

• Headaches and other unexplained pains

GAD Therapy

Our therapist use cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT helps analyze the way we think in order to recognize and correct distortions. Using CBT, people with GAD can change their automatic thinking processes that lead to anxiety and replace them with healthier ways of thinking.

We counsel

Education: Before re-training your thinking processes, it’s important to learn both how anxiety works and how the process of CBT works. In this stage, you will focus on gaining an understanding of GAD and how it affects your thin king and your behavior. You will also learn what to expect from CBT treatment.

Monitoring: You will be taught ways to monitor your anxiety. What triggers it? What specific things do you worry about? How intense are your episodes and for how long do they last? Monitoring your anxiety gives you an overall view of what GAD looks like for you. Being aware of how your anxiety manifests and what triggers it will help you implement ways to change it. It may help to keep a diary for this part of therapy.

Physical control strategies: Anxiety elicits a “fight or flight” response. In this stage of CBT, you will learn techniques to combat this physical over-arousal.

Cognitive control strategies: This is where the “thinking about thinking” comes in. These strategies help you to realistically examine and evaluate the thinking patterns that contribute to GAD, and alter them to be more productive. Challenging these negative thoughts helps to lower your anxiety.

Behavioral strategies: Avoidance is a common reaction to anxiety, but not usually a productive one. This stage focuses on learning to tackle your anxiety and face your fears head-on instead of avoiding the things that make you anxious.